Burke Craddock
“If you're going to ask me about my relationship with the Alliance, I suggest doing so after I've had a few screwdrivers at the canteen.” -Burke, Chapter 19 (Headhunter) of Mass Effect: Cyan Steel. Introduction Burke Jason Craddock (Born December 18, 2142) is a human mercenary, privateer, fugitive, the first mate on board the IFV Panera. He is the main protagonist of Mass Effect: Cyan Steel Background Burke was the child of parents involved in the first wave of the "Space Age Exodus" movement of human sepratists that renounced their System Alliance citizenship and decided to live outside the Alliance's rule. The colonists later settled on the world known as Cuno, the inhabitants establishing independent freedoms of farmland and small scale industrial centers. Known to little, the residents of Cuno (along with many human exiles) were among the first to make a peaceful first contact to alien races, a group of independent asari and batarian traders. His mother Claire had died as a result of an accident on the Craddock estate when Burke was barely out of his toddler stage. His father, fiscally and socially libertarian in view, remarried to an asari corporate ambassador, who bore Burke his asari half-sister, Libra. Blasé toward a life of working on his father's farm, he joined the Blue Suns mercenary company, much to his father's spite of the action. After a lengthy time of running with the Suns, he recieved word that his father was shot and killed in his own home. What started as rumors turned into truth for Burke, that the Alliance saw his father as an anti-alliance agitator and a despot and had him murdered. In a fit of grief, Burke continued his career in the Blue Suns and reached the rank of sergeant, where he planned and oversaw a number of raids and assaults on isolated Alliance outposts. He himself hunted down and collected the dog tags of Alliance officers after eliminating them, racking up a total of five kills, including a marine major. He quickly rose toward the Systems Alliance's most wanted list, and in 2174 CE, they sent operative Brooklyn Seltzer to act as a double agent, gather intel on the unit he was leading, and later outwardly neutralize Burke if he was deemed out of control. Brooklyn eventually befriended Burke, and after allegedly confirming that Burke felt extreme penance and regret for what he was doing, she became more concerned with helping him than following orders and completing her mission. After some skepticism from Burke, Brooklyn eventually presented evidence that the Alliance did not kill his father. Distressed, Burke agreed to sabatoge one of his own missions that he had planned, resulting in the deaths of several Blue Suns and the destruction of one of their ships. After escaping, recruiting former turian special forces pointman Darius Macerdin, buying a former salarian corvette-fighter known as the Panera, and becoming a freelancer, he and his crewmates were branded as outlaws and pirates by the Alliance Navy. Burke vowed to leave his cold blooded nature behind him, his tactics becoming considerably less violent and more merciful. During a contract where he and his associates saved the lives of several Volus bankers that had been kidnapped by privateers, he attracted the attention and thanks of the Citadel council, who offered he and his crewmates to do missions for them. Once the Alliance found out he worked for the Council, they deemed him virtually untouchable and stop pursuing as long as they employed him. Personality Following the years after his deptarture from the Blue Suns, Burke vowed to not perform acts of belligerence to any group of people, and strive to "do the right thing". Often intentionally balancing bellowing heartiness with harmless cynicism, many who have met Burke found him surprisingly easy to get along with. A reputation as somewhat of a wise-cracker leaves his closest friends and family either enamoured or completely annoyed with this attitude. Unless he is under the weather due to his drug abuse, no one claims to have heard the man lose his wit, even when the odds are completely against him. 'Drug Abuse' Burke has been a consistent red sand addict since his years in the Blue Suns, being introduced to the drug by one of the biotic mercenaries in his battalion. He often nullifies the more socially damaging effects with hercaphrozine, a supplement. 'Political and Philosophical Beliefs' First and foremost a strong believer in individualism, Burke avoids cohering with the various cells of galactic society for too long and avoids joining or associating himself with any union or organization. This is most likey due to his disdain for his bloody past with the Blue Suns, possibly associating conformity to general evil. He is also a minor believer in libertarianism, though hates being identified as a materialist like his crewmate, Darius Macerdin. Category:Humans Category:Characters Category:Mercenaries Category:Male Category:CaliforniaTD